Sean O'Reilly – författare

In a dark castle in a land far, far away, the Clockwork Girl was created by the mechanical genius of a mad scientist determined to win a prize at the town fair. Against all odds, she finds love and companionship in Huxley, the amazing mutant circus boy. Despite the threats of their warring families, they begin to explore the world together and discover what it means to be human - to move, to think, and ultimately, to love.

Re-Viewing the Past: The Uses of History in the Cinema of Imperial Japan analyzes the complicated relationship between history films, audiences, reviewers and censors in Japan for the critically important years from 1925-1945. First contextualizing the history of the popular “Bakumatsu” period (1853-1868), the moment of Japan’s emergence as a modern nation, Sean O'Reilly paves the way for a reinterpretation of Japanese pre and postwar cinema. Setting a film in the Bakumatsu period offered ‘cultural breathing room’ to both filmmakers and viewers, offering a cinematic space where apolitical entertainment and now-forbidden themes like romance still reigned. Some filmmakers—and viewers—even conceived of these films as being a form of resistance against Japan’s growing militarism. As comparisons between the popularity of such films versus that of state-sponsored propaganda films show, audiences responded enthusiastically to these glimmers of resistance. O'Reilly argues that we should turn our attention to the much more popular films of the time that were major hits with audiences in order to understand what resonated with wartime spectators, and to speculate about why this might have been the case. Including clips of these rare films, a so-far neglected area of Japanese film history is now firmly situated in context to offer a thought-provoking, multidisciplinary approach.

Re-Viewing the Past: The Uses of History in the Cinema of Imperial Japan analyzes the complicated relationship between history films, audiences, reviewers and censors in Japan for the critically important years from 1925-1945. First contextualizing the history of the popular “Bakumatsu” period (1853-1868), the moment of Japan’s emergence as a modern nation, Sean O'Reilly paves the way for a reinterpretation of Japanese pre and postwar cinema. Setting a film in the Bakumatsu period offered ‘cultural breathing room’ to both filmmakers and viewers, offering a cinematic space where apolitical entertainment and now-forbidden themes like romance still reigned. Some filmmakers—and viewers—even conceived of these films as being a form of resistance against Japan’s growing militarism. As comparisons between the popularity of such films versus that of state-sponsored propaganda films show, audiences responded enthusiastically to these glimmers of resistance. O'Reilly argues that we should turn our attention to the much more popular films of the time that were major hits with audiences in order to understand what resonated with wartime spectators, and to speculate about why this might have been the case. Including clips of these rare films, a so-far neglected area of Japanese film history is now firmly situated in context to offer a thought-provoking, multidisciplinary approach.

With the recent shift in Cuba-US relations stemming from the relaxing of travel restrictions and an influx of American visitors, interest in Cuba and its culture has increased substantially. A new emphasis has been placed on the island country’s many cultural and artistic achievements, specifically in film. Cuban cinema is recognized around the world as having produced some of the most celebrated works originating from Latin America—such as Fresa y Chocolate and La Muerte de un Burócrata—as well as many prominent artists—including directors Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Humberto Solás. In A Cuban Cinema Companion, editors Salvador Jimenez Murguía, Sean O’Reilly, and Amanda McMenamin have assembled a collection of essays about more than100 films across six decades, including feature films, documentaries, and animation. These entries also provide information on directors, actresses, and actors of Cuban cinema. Entries range from films like Retrato de Teresa to Buena Vista Social Club and include descriptions of each film’s plot, themes, and critical commentary, as well as comprehensive production details and brief suggestions for further reading.Beginning with the victory of the Cuban revolution—from the first ten years of what is often referred to as Cuba’s “Golden Age” of film to the present—this volume offers readers valuable insights into Cuban history, politics, and culture. An indispensable guide to one of the great world cinemas, A Cuban Cinema Companion will be of interest to students, academics, and the general public alike.

The Best Travel Writing 2011 is the eighth volume in the annual Travelers' Tales series launched in 2004 to celebrate the world's best travel writing -- from Nobel Prize winners to emerging new writers. The points of view and perspectives are global, and themes encompass high adventure, spiritual growth, romance, hilarity and misadventure, service to humanity, and encounters with exotic cuisine. Sweat, suffer, and fall in love in Guyana, meet a traveler who conducts his own detente in Russian baths, and encounter the light of a stranger in Burma. Further tales include methods on comprehending the nuances of bargaining in Senegal and an archaeologist who digs up her own past in Greece.

This is our annual collection of the best travel writing of the year, much of it never published before, from big names in travel literature and emerging new writers. The "Best Travel Writing" Volume 9 is the latest in the annual "Travelers' Tales" series launched in 2004 to celebrate the world's best travel writing - from Nobel Prize winners to emerging new writers. The points of view and perspectives are global, and themes encompass high adventure, spiritual growth, romance, hilarity and misadventure, service to humanity, and encounters with exotic cuisines and cultures. It includes winners from the annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing. Since 1993, "Travelers' Tales" has been publishing award-winning books about the world, adventure, spirituality, and the life-changing experiences that take place on the road. The "Best Travel Writing" series follows this tradition by presenting in an annual volume the best travel stories from writers around the world.

This is our annual collection of the best travel writing of the year, much of it never published before, from big names in travel literature and emerging new writers. The Best Travel Writing, Volume 10 is the latest in the annual Travelers' Tales series launched in 2004 to celebrate the world's best travel writing - from Nobel Prize winners to emerging new writers. The points of view and perspectives are global, and themes encompass high adventure, spiritual growth, romance, hilarity and misadventure, service to humanity, and encounters with exotic cuisines and cultures. It includes winners from the annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing.

The Best Travel Writing, Volume 11 is the latest in the annual Travelers' Tales series launched in 2004 to celebrate the world's best travel writing — from Nobel Prize winners to emerging new writers. The points of view and perspectives are global, and themes encompass high adventure, spiritual growth, romance, hilarity and misadventure, service to humanity, and encounters with exotic cuisines and cultures. Includes winners from the annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing.Introduction by Rolf PottsIn The Best Travel Writing, Volume 11, readers will:Piece together the puzzle of life in rural CambodiaReawaken the joy of travel on a bus ride through MexicoReexamine war memories with former soldiers in VietnamLearn the ropes and the art of sailing with a "good captain" on the PacificFind a true soul sister in the highlands of EcuadorFollow Vincent van Gogh's footsteps in FranceSurvive (or not) a home invasion in Brazil...and much more

For ten years the editors of Travelers' Tales have run a writing competition to find the best travel story of the year: The Solas Awards. Over those years, thousands of stories have come across their desks, from writers famous and unknown, covering all corners of the globe with stories of adventure and discovery, love and loss, humor and absurdity, grief and joy. In this collection appear all of the top prize winners of the last ten years, stories that bring readers along for journeys that are inspiring, uplifting, and, very often, transformative. These tales are powerful, moving testaments to the richness of our world, its cultures, people, and places.In this book, readers will:Deposit a loved one's ashes in a Bolivian RiverFind the Celtic soul you never knew you had in rural IrelandGrope through the maze of sorcery and madness in CameroonRediscover your sense of self on a return to Russia after many years awayFollow the spirit of John Wesley Powell down the Grand Canyon in ArizonaEngage loss and the specter of death in MexicoFace your deepest fears alone in an Alaskan winterEncounter the realities of prostitution in ThailandAbsorb the rhythms and soul of Flamenco in SpainFall in love with a home in rural France and make it your own...and much more

The Best Travel Writing, Volume 11 is the latest in the annual Travelers' Tales series launched in 2004 to celebrate the world's best travel writing — from Nobel Prize winners to emerging new writers. The points of view and perspectives are global, and themes encompass high adventure, spiritual growth, romance, hilarity and misadventure, service to humanity, and encounters with exotic cuisines and cultures. Includes winners from the annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing.Introduction by Rolf PottsIn The Best Travel Writing, Volume 11, readers will:Piece together the puzzle of life in rural CambodiaReawaken the joy of travel on a bus ride through MexicoReexamine war memories with former soldiers in VietnamLearn the ropes and the art of sailing with a "good captain" on the PacificFind a true soul sister in the highlands of EcuadorFollow Vincent van Gogh's footsteps in FranceSurvive (or not) a home invasion in Brazil...and much more

The Road Within is a very different kind of travel book, a venture into the hidden territories of the human spirit and heart. A book of transformation, of lessons learned, maps drawn and burned, and spiritual blessings bestowed by that great and hard teacher: travel. It will show you what the great mystics and saints have always known—that you are closer to yourself, the world, and the divine, than you can possibly imagine, and that wondrous things await you on your journeys. In this book you will discover the Garden of Paradise in the human heart with Natalie Goldberg; get swept up in a dance of dervishes with Paul William Roberts in Cairo; and feel the chill that accompanies Annie Dillard with a long-time Communist Party member in China. You will meet an angel in Paris, have strange sexual encounters on Asian seas, play a vomiting game in an African initiation ceremony, get a taste of satori, and discover the strange and haunting beauty of Mother Meara in Germany. You will go on a worldwide quest at the invitation of a Shinto priest and have your sins forgiven, but most important, you will encounter the ultimate stranger—you.

For ten years the editors of Travelers' Tales have run a writing competition to find the best travel story of the year: The Solas Awards. Over those years, thousands of stories have come across their desks, from writers famous and unknown, covering all corners of the globe with stories of adventure and discovery, love and loss, humor and absurdity, grief and joy. In this collection appear all of the top prize winners of the last ten years, stories that bring readers along for journeys that are inspiring, uplifting, and, very often, transformative. These tales are powerful, moving testaments to the richness of our world, its cultures, people, and places.In this book, readers will:Deposit a loved one's ashes in a Bolivian RiverFind the Celtic soul you never knew you had in rural IrelandGrope through the maze of sorcery and madness in CameroonRediscover your sense of self on a return to Russia after many years awayFollow the spirit of John Wesley Powell down the Grand Canyon in ArizonaEngage loss and the specter of death in MexicoFace your deepest fears alone in an Alaskan winterEncounter the realities of prostitution in ThailandAbsorb the rhythms and soul of Flamenco in SpainFall in love with a home in rural France and make it your own...and much more

Since 1993, readers have looked to Travelers' Tales for award-winning stories about the world, adventure, spirituality, and the transformative experiences that accompany life on the road. The Best Travel Writing 2008 is the fifth volume in the series launched in 2004 to celebrate the world's best travel writing — much of it never before published — from Nobel Prize winners to up-and-coming new writers. The stories provide a perspective and depth of understanding that can only come from people who have actually been there, and encompass everything from high adventure to misadventure, spiritual growth to romance, service to humanity to encounters with exotic cuisines. Reading the book is like sitting in a café filled with fellow travelers, swapping tales about destinations near and far — readers emerge changed, eager for more, and ready to plan their next trips.

It's winter. The holidays are over. For those living in areas where it's still snowing, and even where it's just cold or rainy, it's the time of year when magazines, newspapers, radio, and television are tantalizing us with ads of warm beaches, sunshine, relaxation, water sports, and foo-foo drinks with little umbrellas sticking out of them.Many of us would love to be able to travel to someplace warm, or to a far away place for a new adventure. However, we may not have the time or the resources to do so. Fortunately, Travelers' Tales has just the armchair adventure travel anyone can experience -- the beaches of Thailand, dining on the banks of the Seine, running with the bulls of Pamplona, purchasing a suit in Hong Kong, climbing the Himalayas -- all for only $17.95 (no shots or visa required).O'Reilly and Travelers' Tales have created a national campaign to help you promote Travelers' Tales titles as the "great getaway -- for cheap". We'll provide you with marketing materials (signage, T-shirts, buttons, postcards, special discount for inventory order, ad slick, and book displays) to create a window or in-store display during the month of May 1997. The store with the best display wins an overstuffed armchair fully equipped with an airline style seat belt.We'll also provide you with shelftalker coupon books with space on the front for you to stamp your store name and address. The coupon is redeemable for 10% off the purchase of a Travelers' Tales book. Your customer simply tears off the coupon from the shelftalker, completes the information (name and address) on the back, and gives it to the cashier when they're ready to purchase a book. At the end of each month you send us thecoupons used by your customers, and we'll credit your account. We understand that you might be hesitant to send in coupons with the names and addresses of your customers. The reason for retrieving this information is so you can build your customer list, and so we can send a Travelers' Tales newsletter to your customers informing them of new titles available from their local bookstore -- including a reference to your store.

Here are 28 awe-inspiring stories of danger and survival, guaranteed to get your heart pumping. Whether trapped in an underwater cave, escaping an avalanche, fending off a thug, or surviving a storm at sea, each author faces moments of raw terror and finds deep reserves of courage. From mountain ice to jungle rot, from bombed-out villages and urban ghettos to wild animals and depraved humans, our authors struggle with life, death, and their very sanity on their travels. Notable authors include Sebastian Junger, Eric Hansen, Peter Maass, Bill Buford, Janine Jones, and William T. Vollmann.

Travel can take many forms with a vast array of destinations, but there's one trip everyone will eventually take. The Ultimate Journey offers a choice selection of true stories from major writers about the final adventure. Crossing all geographical and spiritual boundaries, these writers in the fields of travel and spirituality tell touching, and often surprising, stories of their brushes with death. In a different way, each writer learns an important lesson about life. One traveler tries to make sense of a mysterious rescue from certain death on a bridge in Afghanistan. Another watches a holy man in India bring a crushed fly back to life. A third encounters an old woman in a cemetery in Mexico who tells her more about herself than anyone could know. Contributors include Sogyal Rinpoche, Edward Abbey, Pico Iyer, Mary Morris, Barbara Kingsolver, among others.

Men, you''ve encountered them before - the most foolhardy, annoying, courageous and dangerous creatures on the planet. Journey around the planet in this text and watch the male species.'

Pilgrimage comes in many forms: traditional and unconventional, religious and secular, intended and accidental. Yet it always entails mindfulness - a soulful presence that summons meaning to the surface. This book showcases a diverse array of spirit-renewing journeys from pilgrims of many kinds from places as far away as Tibet's Mount Kailish and as near as sacred New Mexico soil. Includes contributions from Jack Hitt, William Dalrymple, Rabbi David A. Cooper, among others.

With its vast vistas, splendid sunsets, and rich history, the American Southwest has always inspired superb writing. Travelers’ Tales Southwest features a selection of some of the best. Tony Hillerman explores the wonders of Canyon de Chelly, while Douglas Preston takes the reader on a poignant journey into the land of the Hopi. Barbara Kingsolver learns how to live in harmony with the desert, and Barbara Beckwith joins the secret world of Native American pottery hunters. The book covers a wide physical and mythic terrain, with essays on director John Ford’s dramatic use of Monument Valley, and the Mad Monks’ bizarre excursion through “Planet Nevada.”

In this lively collection from an array of accomplished writers, readers meet an old woman who imparts an invaluable midnight message on a Greek island; brothers who heal old family wounds in Ireland; and travelers who awaken to the mystery of their souls in such disparate places as St. Peter’s in Rome and a dusty road in India. Contributors include Phil Cousineau, Kim Chernin, David Yeadon, Don George, and Jan Morris. The Spiritual Gifts of Travel reveals the myriad ways that travel renews the spirit. “The tales ring clear and loud with the universal need to travel the road toward self.” — Francesca de Grandis, author of Be a Goddess!

This newly designed edition of Travelers’ Tales France celebrates the culture, history, and joie de vivre of one of the most beloved — and most visited — countries on Earth. Acclaimed writers, including Peter Mayle, M.F.K. Fisher, Jon Krakauer, Mort Rosenblum, Alice Kaplan, and Jan Morris, who have fallen in love with France — with the food, the land, the irrepressible French people — provide a mesmerizing literary tour of this special place. Opening many windows onto France, this collection reveals the most important reason to visit: to experience life as it should be. “Pays homage to the good life, as defined by the French.” — Los Angeles Times

Paris is one city that you should endeavor to know over the course of a lifetime, and not just in one or two visits. It is the center of the civilized universe, and it belongs to everyone--even to those who see it only in their dreams. The City of Light has bestowed on millions the gift of the incandescent present, an image or experience into which all life is condensed and reflected upon for years to come. Travelers' Tales Paris captures the romance of the world's favorite city through stories that entertain, inform, and touch the heart. John Gregory Dunne reveals the manic pleasures of driving in the city's chaotic traffic. Joseph Diedrich and Katya Macklovich explore romantic encounters that could only happen here. Herbert Gold and David Applefield take aim at the nostalgia surrounding The Left Bank, one reveling in its literary past, the other urging the visitor to reach out to a new, modern Paris in the outlying area of Montreuil. Tim O'Reilly and Coleman Lollar evoke the appeal of unexpected tourist sites, and Marcel Laventurier recounts his harrowing escape from the Nazis on a train bound for occupied Paris in a tale you will never forget.

The Road Within is a very different kind of travel book, a venture into the hidden territories of the human spirit and heart. A book of transformation, of lessons learned, maps drawn and burned, and spiritual blessings bestowed by that great and hard teacher: travel. It will show you what the great mystics and saints have always known--that you are closer to yourself, the world, and the divine, than you can possibly imagine, and that wondrous things await you on your journeys. In this book you will discover the Garden of Paradise in the human heart with Natalie Goldberg; get swept up in a dance of dervishes with Paul William Roberts in Cairo; and feel the chill that accompanies Annie Dillard with a long-time Communist Party member in China. You will meet an angel in Paris, have strange sexual encounters on Asian seas, play a vomiting game in an African initiation ceremony, get a taste of satori, and discover the strange and haunting beauty of Mother Meara in Germany. You will go on a worldwide quest at the invitation of a Shinto priest and have your sins forgiven, but most important, you will encounter the ultimate stranger--you.

San Francisco is spoken of in the same breath as Paris, Venice, and Rome, and has earned the slogan "America’s Favorite City" for its openness, dramatic beauty, cultural amenities, the diversity of its neighborhoods and population, and its icons—the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, cable cars, Fisherman’s Wharf, and fog. It sits on the tip of a peninsula on the edge of a continent in one of the world’s most seismically active areas—no wonder there has always been a "sitting on the edge" mentality here. The city appeared instantly—just add gold and stir!—when that precious ore was discovered in the nearby hills in 1848. It was a boomtown that lasted, and all of that rich history is captured in Travelers’ Tales San Francisco along with clear portraits of today’s city. In these true stories you will explore the North Beach of the Beat era and beyond with Herbert Gold, discover true romance on a cable car with Michele Anna Jordan, uncover the real Mission district with John Krich, marvel at the city’s wild light with Andrei Codrescu, gumshoe through Sam Spade’s San Francisco with Don Freeman, and learn what it means to be a "quintessential San Franciscan" with the late Herb Caen.

Travelers' Tales Ireland reveals the heart and soul of one of the oldest and richest cultures in Europe. From its Celtic ancestry to its thoroughly modern economy, its predominantly Catholic faith to its thriving music and arts, Ireland is a top choice of Europeans seeking a friendly, cosmopolitan place to unwind, and Irish Americans seeking connections with their forbears. Experience the wonder of Ireland as you have always imagined it would be. - Kayak among hidden islands with Brian Wilson - Share a poignant moment with relatives you never knew you had with Brian Moore - Dance with delight with Niall Williams and Christine Breen - Encounter friendly con artists with Thom Elkjer - Explore ancient ruins with David W. McFadden - Climb St. Patrick's holy mountain with Colm Toibin - Pilot your own boat up the River Shannon with Kent E. St. John - Discover the root of "The Troubles" with Cecil Woodham-Smith - Explore Jonathan Swift's Dublin with Rebecca Solnit - Walk the Kerry Way with Tim O'Reilly - Share Heinrich Boll's thoughts on Irish rain

Everyone knows that stories improve with the telling, and nothing helps a travel story more than something going wrong. As soon as things stop going your way you know you’re in trouble, but the frustration, embarrassment, danger, and inconvenience provide great material for stories once the anguish has faded. What we remember are the absurd, surreal, and wacky moments when travel becomes slapstick and grand plans dissolve into comedy. The adventurers here encounter just about everything you’d never expect, from a monster dildo that won’t go away to becoming the prey of religious zealots at the world’s largest human gathering to the proverbial "hair in my soup" at a French restaurant and the proprietor’s remarkable solution to the "problem." In a case of life imitating art, nothing is too ridiculous on the road, as these travelers discover and so generously share without shame or undue embarrassment.

A literary tour of Greece shares true accounts of such topics as the Oracle at Delphi's modern secrets and the ancient charms of a contemporary Athens neighborhood, in a collection that includes contributions by such writers as Paul Theroux, Patricia Storace, and Henry Miller. Original.

This title launches a new Travelers’ Tales series, an annual collection of the best travel writing, to celebrate ten years of publishing the world’s best travel writing—from Nobel Prize winners to complete unknowns. Many of these stories will be published for the first time in this book, while some will have appeared in other Travelers’ Tales titles or elsewhere. But the common thread connecting them will be fresh, lively storytelling and compelling narrative to make the reader laugh, weep, wish he were there, or be glad he wasn’t.These 25 stories cover the globe, from battling snakes in Costa Rica to probing your own relation to the caste system in India to charting your way through the "oldest tourist trap in the world" in Egypt to learning to cook an octopus in Mexico. The writers come from many countries, not just the United States, so the points of view and perspectives are global in reach. Themes are as eclectic as all of our books, including stories that encompass spiritual growth, absolute hilarity and misadventure, high adventure, romance, women’s solo journeys, stories of service to humanity, family travel, and encounters with exotic cuisine.